Date Night
by zentamaus
Summary: Beckett is tired of waiting and invites Castle to go out for drinks. Alternative ending for 4x02. Chapter 4 up now: Mostly Caskett, some case stuff too. More case stuff to come in Chapter 5.
1. Chapter 1

**FanFiction**

CASTLE

Kate Beckett & Richard Castle

Alternative ending for 4x02

_**Date Night**_

_Beckett is tired of waiting and invites Castle to go out for drinks._

_**Disclaimer: In Marlowe we believe is all I say...**_

"Castle?" Kate calls after him, her voice sounds strong and confident, almost as if she's on a mission, and, oh, she is.

"Huh?" Castle answers with surprise in his voice.

"Why not tonight?" She shouldn't. She really shouldn't be enjoying herself so much right now. But she is, and who's gonna blame her. This is Rick Castle we're talking about, ruggedly handsome best-selling author.

His eyes light up, he looks happy and expectant but also somewhat unsure.

"Wanna go to the Old Haunt and get a drink?" She is _way _too sure of herself. But who is she kidding? He's not going to say no.

"Is that _you_ asking _me_ out?" Even though he's teasing it's as good as a yes.

"Might be" She winks at him and walks past him back to her desk to grab her phone and jacket. When she turns around he's already behind her, a little too close to be socially acceptable, reaching out for her jacket to help her into it. She doesn't refuse, even smiles at Castle when she looks at him and lifts her hair out from under the fabric.

"So, is this a yes?" She knows the answer to that, she just wants to hear him say it.

"Oh, you can bet on that, Detective." He grins widely and doesn't even try to hide it.

It shouldn't cause this reaction, but that feeling...those are definitely butterflies in Kate's stomach.

Castle holds out his elbow to her and she slides her arm through his. Arm in arm they walk to the elevator. Her hand leaves his arm when they turn around in the car to face the door and she reaches over and around him to press the button for the ground-level. Castle grins at her, this time he tries to hide it by pressing his lips tightly together, but his glowing eyes give him away. She shyly smiles back, straightening her back to stand next to him. One of her hands reaches up to tuck at a strand of hair and twirls it around her index. Is she really that nervous?

They stay silent during the drive to the Old Haunt, Kate just occasionally smacks Castle's hand lightly every time he reaches out to try and change the radio station. Her car, her rules.

When she pulls up into a free parking spot they unbuckle their seatbelts and their eyes meet for a second. She quickly looks away, blushing slightly, feeling as if she got caught. Got caught at what exactly? Looking at a friend, her partner? That's no crime. But she wasn't _just looking._ She was checking him out, eyes lingering on his broad chest as her gaze moved up from his hands to his rugged face.

They get out of the car, walk next to each other on the sidewalk, arms slightly brushing with every step. They walk down the stairs of _his _pub where holds the door for her when they reach it, letting her go in first. She's always through the door first. It's habit. She's usually the one with the gun, so she has to be in the room before him to make sure the location is safe. She makes sure it's safe for _him_.

Castle walks her over to the bar and greets the barkeeper, _Chaz,_ with a handshake. Then he turns to Kate, smiling at her, making her blush again. "Chaz, this is Kate Beckett. She's a good friend of mine." He doesn't want to give her away as his muse. Tonight is about the two of them, no need to make people start asking question about how they met and if this or that is true what they read on page 6 on him and his muse. All those rumors that were out there in the summer, when he obviously wasn't happy and those paparazzi took pictures of him looking down like big time. But that's a different story. Kate shakes Chaz's hand politely and mumbles something that sounds like _nice to meet you_, or something along those lines. They order their drinks and walk off towards the back of the bar where it is a little more silent. They find a comfortable booth and sit down opposite to each other.

As ridiculous as it might be, Kate is kind of disappointed he didn't sit down next to her. Although, this way she can look at him. Which she really does enjoy doing. She folds her hands on the table in front of her and leans towards him a little.

He shifts in his seat. "So…" He begins, runs his hands over the edge of the table. His pause makes her curious. She raises a questioning eyebrow at him. Castle looks her in the eyes and blurts it out. "What is this all about?"

She gives him a mischievous grin, but answers matter-of-fact-ly. "Wanted to go out on a proper date with you for once."

Despite all the teasing he never thought she say they were on a _date_. So his response is everything but calm or teasing. "D-date?" He stammers.

"Can't handle the truth, can we?" Kate is still teasing and really enjoying his reaction to it.

He shifts in his seat again, rubbing his sweaty palms down his thighs over the smooth fabric of his dark blue-jeans.

"Yeah, well, I can. I just didn't think you'd be that forward is all"

"You gotta call the things by their name. And I don't wanna dance around anymore." Castle turns still, silent. She's taken him by surprise yet again. "Don't get me wrong, the teasing is fun and it used to be enough - " The waiter chose this moment to arrive with their drinks. Why do people have to have such bad timing? Always interrupting when she's about to say something important to him.

Castle only nods in acknowledgment when he takes his drink, Kate manages a simple mumbled "Thank you". The waiter senses the tension and discretely leaves the table with a small bow. Kate takes the chance to take a sip of her drink and to sort her thoughts, thinking about what to say next, how to explain it to him. Castle drinks too and when he sets the glass back down on the table he folds his fingers around it, resting his forearms on the table. She swallows hard when he looks at her expectantly. She's nervous again.

"It used to be enough, the teasing. And the innuendos, but it's not anymore. I wanna live my life now. I wanna get rid of that wall. And I want you to help me with it." She pauses, unsure, before she adds "If you want to."

And, boy, does he want to. Does want to be with her, want's to get rid of that wall that kept them apart. It won't now, not anymore. She's ready and Castle won't step back. Not now, not ever.

"Always." He says earnestly. The way he says it almost sounds like it's an oath, maybe because he means it as one.

Kate's answering smile is beaming and it emphasizes her "thank you."

"I didn't do anything yet"

"No, you didn't, but just for willing to stand by. You know after everything. This summer -"

"Kate, don't." He interrupts her. "It's OK. I forgave you already. It's in the past."

She doesn't know what to say so she just reaches over the table, removes his hands from around the glass and holds on tightly to one of his.

They stare at each other for some time before he breaks the silence. "Our first real date..."

"First _real_ date?" What is he talking about?

"You know, all the times we went out together but didn't call it a date because either you, me or both of us were in a relationship?" Castle explains

"Oh yeah, that. Like the one time we went to watch 'Forbidden Planet'"

"About that." Castle stretches the words and he seems nervous again. "I gotta be honest with you...I've seen the movie before." He guiltily looks down at their joined hands, but she only laughs in delight. Seeing Kate Beckett laugh openly like that, that's totally out of the ordinary. "Yap, Castle, I kinda figured that when you got all excited every time before a good scene came up."

"There are only good scenes." He states. "You're not mad at me?"

She smiles and shakes her head. "No. Why would I be? It was fun and I was glad I didn't have to go alone. He seems relieved. She lightly squeezes his hand and absentmindedly strokes her thumb over the soft skin of his fingers. "Anything else I should know?"

"Nah, not really. Anything _I _should know?"

"Um..." She stiffens, almost pulls her hand back but he catches it and holds onto it tightly.

"You don't have to say it right now, Kate. Not if it makes you uncomfortable."

"No. It's just that – I want to. It's just not that easy."

"Take your time. I'm willing to wait."

"But I don't want you to have to wait anymore." She says desperately. "You've been waiting so long already. And I'm not just talking about this summer, but all the time before that too."

Castle scoots around the table to sit next to her. His hand never leaving hers.

"Kate. You're thinking way too much about what might be hard for me, what might hurt me. But Imma let you know, I'm grateful for every minute I get to spend with you. Whether you hold my hand or you glare at me. Everything's better than not seeing you."

He moves a bit and his knee brushes against her thigh, making her skin tingle. Kate's gaze flickers around the room before it finally settles on his face. She's thinking – hard. She turns to face him, presses her knees against his. Their hands fall onto her leg with the motion.

"I remember."

"You – huh?"


	2. Chapter 2

_**Date Night – Chapter 2**_

_**Disclaimer: Still not mine...**_

* * *

"The shooting. I remember it."

"You, but – why? Since when?" Castle's hurt is clearly portrait in his voice and his expression.

"I'm so sorry. Since the moment I woke up after surgery. It – I just couldn't handle everything that's been going on. It was all too much. I - I wasn't ready then." It's hard for her to say all this, but she has to. Has to for the sake of their relationship.

There is a moment of complete silence.

"Rick," she says softly. "I am ready now. I want to give this a shot. Give _us _a shot."

"But, if – then," he starts, takes a deep breath. "Do you?" He lifts their hands a bit, questioning her behavior. Why would she hold his hand if she didn't...?

He doesn't get to think any further because her free hand comes to rest against his cheek. He can't help but lean into her touch. Kate's eyes fixate on his mouth and then she leans up and forward to press a soft kiss to his lips. It's unexpected and the surprise temporarily paralyzes him.

When he regains control over his body his free hand comes up to clasp her neck to pull her even closer to him.

Kate suddenly jumps and breaks the kiss. The look on Castle's face can only be compared to that of a 5-year-old who's favorite toy just got taken away.

Kate pulls her vibrating phone out of her pants' pocket. A look on the display confirms her suspicion. It's Esposito. Talk 'bout bad timing...

"What's up, Espo?" Thankfully she got her voice under control. She listens for a moment to what Esposito has to say. "Yeah, OK. We'll meet you guys there ASAP." She hangs up and shoves the phone back into her pocket. "That was Espo. We got a dead body. He'll text the location." She jumps a bit in her seat. "Texted the location." She's already halfway up and out of the booth when she turns around and adds with a wink "Oh, and we are not done talking about this."

What that woman does to him, holy mother of Jesus! It takes him a few seconds to catch his breath before he leaves a nice tip on the table and hurriedly follows her out of the bar. Had Kate Beckett just kissed him? Just like that? _Life is beautiful._

* * *

They pull up into a free parking spot near the crime scene 20 minutes later. The drive was silent, just a few smiles. And hand holding. There was that too.

The look she shoots him when she unbuckles her seat belt is enough of a warning, she wouldn't have to say it, he already knows what's about to come.

"When we're crime scene you do not touch me or even look at me like that. I want this to stay between the two of us." She makes a pause before she adds "For now."

"Yes ma'am." Castles bows his head respectfully and somewhat mocking.

Kate looks around to check if there's someone near the car. There isn't, so she leans over the console and presses a chaste kiss to his lips. He grins at her. "Ugh, and lose that grin." It's supposed to sound annoyed but her voice only reflects her humor.

* * *

The victim's apartment is on the 4th floor. There is no elevator. Typical. Castle walks behind her and she thinks she knows why, so she turns around and catches him doing exactly _that_. "Eyes up, mister."

"Um, yeah. Sorry." But she just laughs at him and continues up the stairs.

Finding the right apartment is quite easy. In front of the open door is a police officer standing to whom Beckett flashes her badge before they enter the crime scene.

There is no hallway, the apartment opens into a huge open space with living area and dining area and kitchen combined. It looks surprisingly modern, given the rather oldish and fucked-up facade of the building.

The place is trashed though. Books that have been pulled off shelves are now lying on the floor along with plates and glasses. The chairs from around the dining table are thrown over. The glass of the coffee table is shattered and there's a small blood pool with a thin trail that leads to what has to be the bedroom.

Looks like there was a hell of a fight going on tonight. But it also means that the neighbors must have heard something, so it's kind of a good think too.

Ryan is questioning an elderly woman on the side of the room that's farthest away from the front door. Esposito is nowhere to be seen, so Kate guesses that he's with Lanie where ever the body is. She looks at Ryan again and heads over to him when he lifts his gaze and waves a "Hi". He points at the same door to which the blood trail leads in a way of telling them where the dead guy is.

The bedroom is so tidy it's almost too neat to be really comfortable. There are no pictures on the wall, just a single oil on the side opposite to the window. On each side of the king-sized bed lamps are fixed to the light green wall. The bed is covered with a blue canvas, if not very well, because you can see a muscular pair of male feet looking out from under it. Next to the bed is Lanie kneeling on the ground, removing dirt from a hand that hangs out from under the cover. Espo is looking through the drawers and doors of the cabinet under the oil painting.

Kate comes to stand next to Lanie."Hey guys," the Detective greets her colleagues. "What do we got?"

Lanie looks up from the hand she's been working on and smiles at her friend. "Hey girl. Single GSW to the chest. The vic is a Caucasian male -"

"- he's the owner of this place," Esposito cuts in. He takes a wallet off the cabinet and waves it in the air. "Kol Mikaelson, 36."

The M.E. gets out of her crouched position to remove the canvas from over the body when she looks at something slightly behind Kate's head and grins before getting back to her work. Kate turns around, irritated, though she already guessed what had made her friend give her a look like that. Castle is standing behind her. Too close. No, wait, too close to be acceptable here at the crime scene. Under different circumstances, if they were alone for example, he'd be standing too _far_ away. But since they aren't alone she puts her fingertips on his chest and pushes him away a bit. "Personal space, Castle." She draws an imaginary circle around her self with both her hands before turning back around to have a look at the victim.

Lanie had uncovered him just enough so you could see the entry wound the bullet had left behind right over the heart. Kate's hand flickers up on it's own to cover the scar on _her_ chest. The victims bare chest is covered in fresh scratches and bruises from the fight that had obviously occurred right before his death.

"Are those burn marks around the GSW?" Castle asks, breaking the silence.

"Yeah. The shooter must of gotten close enough to put the gun right on his skin."

"Where's the bullet?" Beckett wants to know.

Lanie points at the wall behind the bed. At chest height there's a bullet stuck in it.

"Espo, get CSU here. I want that bullet out of that wall. And I want to know how that fight in the living room took place."

"On it!" Esposito makes some notes as he's leaving the room. Castle follows a few seconds later with a mumbled "gonna have a look at that mess in the living room again".

Now it's just Lanie and Kate. And the body. "Sooo, girl. What's going on with you and Writer-Man?"

**A/N: Sorry that it took me so long to upload! I'll try to upload more frequently from now on (Chapter 3 is almost done). I'm not really sure how long this story will be in the end. I have also no idea where this is going and I'm kinda freaking out because I 'm not sure about the police procedure stuff, but I'll work it out ;)**

**Hope you like the story so far. If you do, please let me know. If not, you can let me know too, I'm open to criticism.**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Date Night – Chapter 3**_

_**Disclaimer: If it was mine...nah, I won't even go there.**_

* * *

Now it's just Lanie and Kate. And the body. "Sooo, girl. What's going on with you and Writer-Man?"

"Nothing" Kate answers dryly, refusing to meet her friends gaze.

"Girl, don't lie to me."

"How can you possibly get anything from those two minutes?"

"Ah-ha! So you admit to it." Beckett glares at Lanie who just continues, "that's like electricity between the two of you. I could almost see it." For that she gets a Beckett-eye-roll. "And," Lanie goes on, "Javi said you told him 'we'll be there' not 'I'll be there'"

"Damn, did I really say that?" Kate mumbles under her breath, questioning her own sanity for saying such a thing.

"Got a little light-headed, huh?"

"It's not - " she tries to deny it but Lanie cuts in, "you kissed him, didn't you?"

"Well, I wouldn't - "

"Kate" Lanie warns with raised eyebrows, cracking Kate's hard shell.

"Yeah, OK, I kissed him. No big deal. Can we go back to the victim now please?"

"Whoa! It _is_ a big deal" Beckett almost kills her friend with that look on her face, what get's her back on topic. "So, the vic got a lot of stuff under his fingernails. I guess we are lucky and can get some DNA of the attacker. Imma bag him up now and get him back to the morgue. When we're through with this case, you and I, girlfriend, are going out for drinks. We need to do some serious talking."

Beckett takes in a deep breath, looks at her friend and slightly shakes her head. What did she get herself into? They won't be able to keep this a secret for long. This is gonna get really annoying. She leaves the room to go talk to Ryan, who has been interviewing the neighbors all the time.

Ryan is just finishing up his interview, thanking the gray-haired woman for her cooperation. Kate is standing next to him, waiting for him to be ready to share the information he has hopefully gathered. Finally the woman leaves with a last handshake for Ryan and Beckett ask, "So, do you got any information for us to go on?"

"Yeah. I talked t the two immediate neighbors on this floor. One of them said that he heard a fight earlier this evening but it calmed done after a couple of minutes. Then, half an hour later, a bigger fight came up. Sound of chairs being thrown on the ground, shelves being emptied and than as the big final the sound of a gun going off. The neighbor called the police, was too scared to go look by himself. So, no, he didn't see anyone leaving the apartment after that."

"Does he have any idea who Kol was fighting with?"

"Yap. The victim had a boyfriend, Glenn Smith. Neighbors saw him a few times. Seemed like a nice enough guy according to them, though they also say that they don't really have any idea who he is. Just very polite."

"Might have been them fighting" Kate muses. "Maybe Kol broke up with Glenn who didn't want to accept it and killed him out of revenge. Or the either-me-or-no-one scenario."

"Crime of passion. I love those." Castle throws in with a wide grin. "So much...drama."

"We'll see. So far it's all just suspicion." She turns to Ryan again. "Castle and I are gonna head back to the 12th. I'll run the boyfriend, see if something pops up. When you guys are done here you can go home. Oh, and tell CSU to check nearby dumpsters for the gun, maybe our killer tried to get rid of it. I'll see you in the morning, Ryan. Bye Lanie!" She calls.

"Bye girl, don't forget about our date!" The M.E.'s voice shouts from the bedroom.

Kate is annoyed and walks towards the door with a "ugh-huh". She doesn't want to have to deal with all this just yet. She's not even sure what they are right now. First she'll have to talk to Castle, make sure this is what she wants it to be, make sure they are on the same page.

Castle stares first in the direction of the bedroom, then Kate. He's obviously confused by Lanie's statement.

"You comin' or what?" Kate calls over her shoulder when she's at the door and Castle still hasn't moved a bit.

* * *

Back at the precinct they sit down at her desk. Castle just sits there with his hands folded in his lap, watching her do the work with such interest, following her every movement with his eyes. He's savoring the look on her face as her expression darkens a little, her brows furrow and she pouts her lips as she's waiting for the computer to work faster. It just looks really cute.

Beckett runs the boyfriend, searches the data base for anything that might suggest violent behavior. _Why is her equipment working so slow today? Uagh!_

Castle gets up and starts off toward the break room. "I'm gonna make coffee, you want some too?"

"Sure," she answers absentmindedly, drumming her fingers on the surface of the desk in some weird non-rhythm.

He comes back a few minutes later with one cup in each hand. Kate is reading the criminal record of Glenn. When he puts her cup on the desk next to her keyboard and sits down in his chair again he asks, "You find anything?"

She looks kinda frustrated, disappointed. "No. The guy is pretty clean except for a few parking tickets and the fact that he got caught shop-lifting once. But that was almost 20 years ago."

"The ones who've never done a thing are the worst." He thinks out loud. "One day they just _snap_."

Beckett smiles amused and leans back in her chair. Something just came to her mind, he's sure. "Good thing you're not too innocent yourself. Wouldn't want you to _snap_."

"Oh, I'm _far_ from innocent, Detective." And there's the innuendo again.

She giggles. "Ya, so I've read."

After a short-lasting staring-contest she shifts her attention back to the computer, starts closing programs to shut it down. It's way too late already and they can't really do anything else until the morning.

"Kate?" There's a big question coming, no doubt.

"Mhmm" She hums, turning her head slightly so she can look at him.

"I was just wondering if...you know after...you, me, are we -? Um, are you - " Castle stutters, he's so...unsure. It makes him even more adorable, lovable.

"Your girlfriend?" She suggests, stopping that self inflicted torture of his. "I suppose you could say that, though it doesn't really sound right. Let's stick to 'partners'...'Partners in crime _and_ in life'"

He smiles at her, that child-like grin of pure happiness. That's a gift, being grown up, but still having those pure feelings in you and being able to show them that openly.

"Come on, I'll give you a ride home," she says as she gets up and offers him an outstretched hand.

* * *

They are in her parked car in front of his loft.

"Earlier, when we had drinks, you said that we weren't done talking..." Castle begins slowly, hesitantly. "It was more than a tease, wasn't it?"

Kate turns in her seat, pulling up her foot under her so she can really face him. She's worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. "Well, there are some things I haven't told you yet." She pauses and shyly smiles at him. This is so not her. She's usually more straight forward, not so...unsure. He makes her nervous. In a positive way, though. In that way that makes your skin tingle and gives you goosebumps. He brings facets of her to life that no one else ever has. He makes her be all girly. She can be weak around him. He's seen her at her worst and she doesn't even mind. On the contrary, she's glad he knows that side of her. "Actually just one thing..."

"Which would be..?" Castle asks after a few seconds of silence. He's getting impatient already.

"I already told you that I remember and you asked if I -" She breaks off. _Come on, Kate, grow some balls, just spill it!_

She reaches out, takes his left hand in both of hers, sliding the fingers of one hand into his palm, cupping both of theirs with her other. She looks him in his amazingly deep blue eyes.

"I love you, Castle."

**A/N: So sorry it takes me so long to upload new chapters. It's just that I have a lot going on with school lately. And also, the Finale just turned me into an emotional wreck. Even before it aired I had way too many "feels" because of it ;)**

**Btw: I got a tumblr: zentamaus(dot)tumblr(dot)com**

**and a twitter: zentamaus**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Date Night – Chapter 4**_

_**A/N: Look at that, I managed to finish this chapter before the hiatus was over! I will not go into detail any further than this, it's awkward enough as it is. My dad and stepmom are reading this. **_

_**Hey guys *smiles weakly***_

_**Disclaimer: I spend my days at the Kindergarten looking after spoiled kids.**_

* * *

"I love you, Castle."

He practically dives for her, crushing her lips with his, moving urgently against her mouth and the way she kisses him back only makes the words more true. Kate's hands have somehow come up to rest against his chest while one of his came up to her hair with his other at her waist. When he pulls back a bit to look at her he cups her face with his strong hands. She slowly opens her eyes to look at him. She's beautiful, always, but even more now with this breathless, open-mouthed smile on her face.

"You love me," Castle says, stating the fact he can't really believe just yet.

"I do."

At that he laughs. "That comes a little later," he blurts, regretting the words as soon as they are out, afraid she'll pull away because he just can't keep his mouth shut.

"We'll see about that," Kate teases unexpectedly. Castle's shocked impression, and the fact that her little innuendo made him drop his hands from her face, makes her laugh out loud. He let's out the breath he's been holding. "You'll be the death of me, Kate."

"I sure hope not." She is still teasing but the words are true and he knows it.

They stare into each others eyes for a few seconds before Castle asks, "Hey, um, do you wanna come up?"

"As much as I'd love to, I need to go home and get some decent sleep. I need to be fit and awake for the case."

At first he looks disappointed but then his eyes sparkle and he grins at her. "Well, Detective, if you came up, I'd make sure you are awake." He wiggles his eyebrows at her for what he earns himself a playful slap in the chest.

"Another time," Kate suggests. Promises? "Now get out of my car. I need to go to bed."

"My bed is very big and comf - " Kate shuts him up with a firm kiss to his lips. She pulls away after a mere second or two and raises an eyebrow, waiting for him to leave.

"Okay, okay. I'm leaving," Castle says reluctantly. "See you tomorrow morning." With that he opens the door and is off toward his building.

"See you tomorrow!" Kate calls after him before she falls back against her backrest with the biggest smile on her face.

She's just about to turn the key in the ignition when there's a small knock on the passenger window. It's Castle. She lets the window down. He smiles at her, rests his elbows on the window frame to lean into the car. "I just wanted to say that I love you too." He pushes off the car and walks off again, a huge proud smile lighting up his expression, leaving behind a stunned and breathless detective.

* * *

It's only a little past 7am when Beckett settles in at her desk in the precinct. She's a little worn out from the late night and the fact that she almost did not sleep at all, for what she blames Castle. She just couldn't stop thinking about him and about how their relationship has changed in the past 12 hours. How it completely changed from being partners at work and friends (though that's not really what they were, is it?) to being together, for real, as boyfriend and girlfriend. Partners in life.

Deep in thought she starts her computer, then walks over to the murder board that has yet to be set up. She stares at it, thinking about what they got. It seems to be an easy enough case. Sitting there, on the edge of her desk, she stares at the white surface a little longer before she finally gets up to walk around the desk and print a picture of their victim. She puts it up on the board and writes _Victim_ over it, _Kol Mikaelson _under it. On the right side of the board she writes at the same height _Suspect, _then goes to print a picture of Glenn Smith which she pins to the wall and writes his name in addition with _(ex-)boyfriend._

Kate picks up her desk phone and hits one of her speed dials. He picks up after the first few rings.

"Yes?" He seems distracted.

"Ryan, it's Beckett. Can you and Esposito check out the apartment of Glenn Smith before you come in?"

"Sure, just text me the address."

"Thanks, will do. I want to interrogate him as soon as possible."

"I know...See you later!"

"See you." She hangs up and picks up her mobile to send the location to Ryan. In her peripheral she sees an outstretched arm with a large cup of coffee in it. Kate hits send and turns around with a beaming, open-mouthed smile.

"Hey," she says softly and takes the cup out of Castle's hand.

"Good morning, Detective," he greets her, his eyes full of love and happiness and she just can't help but lift up on her toes and kiss him. Just like that. In the middle of the precinct. For everyone to see. It's not inappropriately passionate, just a gesture to show her gratitude. To thank him for the coffee and for being there both.

She pulls away, says "good morning" and simply sits back down at her desk, leaving him standing there, overwhelmed by her sudden outburst of affection. Kate watches him, amused and she feels kind of proud of what effect she has on him.

* * *

Half an hour later Ryan and Esposito come in, Glenn Smith between them, holding him by his arms. Smith struggles, tries to get out of the boy's tight grip, hisses insults at the detectives, who bring him straight into the interrogation room where they cuff him to the desk. Wouldn't wanna take any risks, would you?

Beckett and Castle walk into Observation where Ryan and Espo join them after they managed to overpower their suspect.

"What's with him?" Castle wants to know, tilting his head toward the mirror.

"When he opened his front door and saw us he tried to slam it shut and made a run for the fire-escape."

"We caught him with a few grams of heroin in his hands," Esposito cuts in. "He claims it's not his."

At that Beckett raises a disapproving eyebrow and Castle grunts, "yeah, like that's true," slightly shaking his head.

"I got a warrant for his place since CSU didn't find the gun or the missing casing at our crime scene. Could you go back to Smith's place and see if you can find anything? I'll to crack him in the meanwhile."

"Sure."

"On it."

The boys leave the observation room and Castle turns around to thoughtfully look at Kate.

"How will you handle _him_?" he asks.

Beckett turns to look at the angry figure on the other side of the mirror. "The good cop way, build a relationship, be understanding, make him talk and _let _him talk. The more he says the better."

"You want me to stay out here?" Having two people sitting in front of you, staring you down, can be intimidating.

"Yeah. I'll go in by myself."

"Good luck, love."

She's already at the door, but the words make her stop in her tracks. She shuts her eyes, squeezes them closed tightly, trying to control herself. Then she takes a deep, calming breath and turns around, pointing a sharp finger at him.

"Call me 'love' again and I'll break both your legs."

"Hey!" Now that hurt. "I thought that was the rule for me calling you my muse?" He's obviously confused and she can hear in his voice that his ego got a not-so-nice kick below the belt.

"Nah-uh. Muse, that I accept but 'love'?" She looks at him disapprovingly. "Seriously, we're not in some romance-y movie, so let's just stick to 'Kate' and 'Castle', 'kay?"

"You won't even call me 'Rick'?" Castle says with a pout, pretending to be deeply aggrieved.

"No. Except if you want me to be angry with you." She winks at him. He was lucky then; she can't really be that angry if she's already joking again. "But really, I never call you 'Rick'. You're 'Castle' to me and I like the sound of it. It suits you," Kate says honestly, if a tad cheeky. She gives him a quick kiss on the lips, trying to end the conversation before he can say anything ridiculous. It doesn't work though.

"Maybe you could do the sexy Russian chick again and call me 'Richard'," he suggestively wiggles his eyebrows at Kate.

"Castle!" She warns him, all her authority and cop in her voice. As if he doesn't stop now she'll shoot him, or maybe just break his legs. That's debatable.

He gets the warning and stops her, but _cop_ is so hot on her and he can't help but taking her in with his eyes, gaze first lingering at her lips, then her breast, running further down over her long legs. And, damn, those jeans fit. And those shoes...how does she even run in those heels?

She pats him on the chest. Sometimes she wishes he would wear ties, than she could grab him by it and pull his face down to hers. Since there is no tie to grab, she just lets her fingers run down over the line of buttons. She leans in closer to whisper in his ear, her fingers low against his stomach.

"Save that thought for later." How does she know?

_Kate, jeesh, stop biting your lip like that if you want me to hold that thought and not to push you up against that wall and do it to you right now and here!_

But then she spins around, her long locks flying through the air and walks out of the room with a satisfied grin spreading on her face.


End file.
